Asking what puts you off when viewing a house to buy?

[DarkGreen]

We have had our house valued but we are just getting the house ready to sell. Touching it up bits and tidying up.

For context its a 2 bed terraced house on a country lane with no driveway but space on the Road to park outside the house. It is an old house.

What areas and things should we focus on? What would you look for and what would put you off?

I am always suspicious if a house smells of paint. Particularly when it's not a property developer selling. It makes me wonder if the seller has painted over damp patches / leaks / problems

but it is messy needs weeding

While it wouldn’t put me off as I love gardening, it does give the house a bit of a neglected look, and a purchaser might wonder what else you have neglected.

What is the issue with owners doing the viewings? Admittedly it has been 17 years since we last moved, but back then having an estate agent doing a viewing wasn't a thing. DD was two when we were doing viewings, and she "helped". We had several offers all for the asking price or above (I realise that the market was very buoyant back then)

Clutter and maybe dirty bathrooms and toilets.
Clutter is the worst when it makes decent size rooms seem small and if it’s so much you just can’t picture the house without it. I viewed one once which I am sure was a decent house but there stuff was piled everywhere and I just couldn’t see past it despite trying.
Strong smells like curry or animals are off putting too.

I'm fine with a sparse garden, but an overgrown, weedy one would put me off.

Toilet seat up, toothpaste dribbles in sink.

For me the one thing is dodgy neighbours- rubbish in gardens/unkempt or just really run down looking.

Everything to do with the property that’s for sale can (if you’re willing) be overcome, but neighbours, along with location you are stuck with.

Ask the agents not to park right outside in viewings so the road doesn't look busier than it would normally be and the parking looks less restrictive.

Only things that put me off are things you cannot change like location, room sizes and aspect, small over looked garden, no parking, busy road or nearby school.
If it is priced correctly I have no problem with anything else as I can change it.

Re animal smells. We were put off a house because of cat smell. We moved nearby and DD made friends with another newby in the area and was invited to go round to play. It was the cat house and I went to pick her up and was invited in for a coffee. The smell was totally gone. I regretted not buying that house. You can get rid of smells.

*Air fresheners, especially reed diffusers, have had to leave houses because of those, they make me feel ill very quickly.

Completely paved garden or astro turf, too much trouble to make it a proper garden with real grass. An unkempt garden would not worry me though.*

I agree.

If the garden is no more than a yard. Not in size, I mean all gravel or all paved.

Astro turf ? It defies belief that people put this in their own back yards. Especially people with dogs / pets of any sort.

Bare floors i.e. that damn laminate flooring that seems to be taking over the houses in the whole country. I won't view a house if I see that all the floors in the house just look bare and cold and unfriendly. People used to be proud of having fitted carpets. How come the change back to bare floors either wood or laminate. I can just about cope with the ground floor being bare laminate/wood on an, 'oh alright then' basis. But all the floors in the whole house ? Nope.

One of the many things I like about our new house is that it is fully carpeted except for the kitchen and bathrooms which have appropriate flooring in.

Recently I viewed a couple of houses that were very nice and fitted the bill but I just didn't get that 'feel' that it could be home one day. That feeling the the house has got soul.

We moved into our purchased house before Christmas. It's got everything we need, and, of course, it's got soul.

I'd be much more enthusiastic if the garden looked cared for.

Also, declutter, even if that means putting a load of stuff in a storage unit for a few weeks while you get the photos done and have viewings.

Good luck!

Make sure there aren't any issues with the immediate neighbours. A neighbour who has a problem with whoever's living next door can (a) make your life hell, and (b) potentially make it difficult for you to sell again at some point in the future, so make sure there are no ongoing disputes.

Definitely smells, anything catty or fishy but also fake smells from candles etc. I’m always wondering what they are masking.
Curtains too, open them wide to show off big windows rather than showing off YOUR curtains.

What about wooden fence panels, should I paint them or leave them natural wood? They are all different shades

@ToffeeNotCoffee totally with you on the laminate !

Carpet (good quality) or solid flooring. Not plastic

Large trampolines in the garden.

@Rosehip10

Large trampolines in the garden.

Why?

I'm not keen on corner plots. And cupboards over the bed. Badly planned extensions.

What would put me off:
Smell.
2 bed terrace with the bathroom downstairs right at the back of the house, next to the kitchen.
Nowhere to park nearby.
Tiny garden.

Bodged DIY
Damp smells
Damp or mould on walls/peeling wallpaper
Clutter and dirt
Carpets

Definitely dog smell. We’ve rejected a few houses because of dog smell

Why?? The dog wouldn’t be there if you bought the house. Cleaning, decorating and new carpets would get rid of a doggy odor.

In the end a house will sell for what it is worth to the buyer.

All this bad tiling etc: some buyers will prefer to pay less for a house and do their own work to put in the bathroom / kitchen of their choice.

I have just viewed a load of houses, some that were immaculate had expensive fittings a million miles from my taste so I wasn’t up for paying the enhanced cost.

Leaving a house as uncluttered as possible is worthwhile because it gives greater scope for buyers to see the space and picture how they would use it.

I'd make the fence panels all the same shade or colour

In an older house I would be put off by wallpaper especially if it’s painted on wood chip. I would assume that there are cracks underneath. If there weren’t cracks then removing the wallpaper could lead to the room being replastered. This happened in my first house. Also if it’s wallpapered and you want additional powerpoints or wall lights it’s just harder to make good.

I'm not sure I'm the right person to answer this. Every house we've bought was tired and shabby round the edges and we wanted to pay less for a house and do it up. So old kitchens and dated decor doesn't put me off.

I do like a house to be clean though. Real squalid dirt is so off putting that I would struggle to get passed it.

Parking would be a practical consideration for me. We live in a city with a large number of older properties with on street parking and we went for one of the few that had a driveway. We compromised on other things to get that.